Sharon Vander Meer

I gained a year. I’m not kidding, I did. Most of last year I said I was 72. A couple of weeks ago, Bob corrected me (isn’t that what husbands are for?). This is the second time I’ve done this. When I turned 57, I said I was 58, so right up until my 58^th birthday, at which point I found out I’d been 57 working toward 58, I was older and younger at the same time. Anyway, the point is in two days I will be 72. I’ve left 71 in the dust, but that’s okay because I never knew I was 71. Now that I’m going to be 72 I’m okay with it, after all I’ve been living with it for a year already.

The selfie is of me with an almost blooming day lily. This and a white day lily were given to me by my friend, Sharon Caballero. They’re early B-Day presents and I’ve happily put them in the ground (in pots, the soil in our yard won’t grow anything), and can’t wait for them to bloom.

The lilies were a wonderful surprise, but the biggest surprise was the three – yes THREE ­– birthday cards that accompanied the plants. I can’t begin to explain those cards except that every one of them contained an inside joke. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt!

Thank you, Sharon, for your thoughtful gifts.

I’m not giving anything away when I tell you I know what my friend Kathy Allen is giving me. The reason I know is that it was purchased at a silent auction fund raiser. It’s a unique lapel pin and I was determined to have it, so I started bidding. Kathy and I had a bidding “war” going on until she told me to stop bidding because she was getting it FOR ME for my birthday! Just a comment here, she clued me in before the bidding got out of hand :).

So, thank you, Kathy, for the gift I know is coming. Unless, of course, you changed your mind and decided to keep it :).

These are two remarkable, wonderful and thoughtful women. What they gave/will give me is filled with meaning for me because both Kathy and Sharon know me pretty well. The best gift they give is their friendship all through the year.